IL Rock & Roll Museum On Route 66 Unveils Joliet Location

JOLIET, IL- During the past year, the long abandoned Old Joliet Prison along Collins Street has turned into a worldwide tourist attraction for Joliet. Now, another huge tourist draw for Joliet is ready to bloom. Promoters for the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 announced that they have acquired a three-story building in downtown Joliet for the location of their museum.

The Route 66 Rock & Roll Museum has acquired the property at 9 West Cass St. The building, which dates back to the late 1920s, is just around the block from the Joliet Area Historical Museum and it's next to the Juliet's Italian Restaurant. It's also across the street from The Forge, which has become another huge asset for downtown's night life entertainment.

The nonprofit Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 has been in the works since 2017.

However, chairman Ron Romero is now ready to move forward with announcing his site after three years of continuous fund-raising activity.

He said the major building renovations would begin at 9 W. Cass Street in the coming weeks. It's his goal to have the new museum ready to welcome tourists for the summer of 2020. He said he intends to use as many Joliet-area laborers as he can.

"We've been fund-raising an idea that's ours, a building," he told Joliet Patch Friday.

The museum will celebrate the state of Illinois' rock-n-roll legends as well as the Chicago area's blues heritage. The museum will feature guitars, drums, music sheets with lyrics, instruments and other memorabilia from world-famous musicians with a connection to Illinois.

Some of the musicians whose work will be celebrated at the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum include Cheap Trick, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Chicago, Smashing Pumpkins, Disturbed, Train, The Ides of March, The Buckinghams and Shadows of Knight.

Blues artists would include Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters.

And don't be surprised to see some exhibits and memorabilia paying tribute to Joliet East High School graduate Lionel Richie, and even certain members of the Beatles such as George Harrison and Ringo Starr as well as jazz legend Louie Armstrong.

If the musician had a special tie or significant link to the state of Illinois, there's a good chance the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum will pay homage to that artist's work, Romero told Joliet Patch.

Most of the museum will occupy the second and third floors, Romero said. Part of the first-floor will likely continue to be used by the Will County Model Railroad Association. "We'd like to keep them there," Romero told Joliet Patch on Friday.

There will be space to hold small concerts and wedding receptions, plus plenty of rooms to showcase exhibits and have a gift shop. Being located directly across the street from The Forge could not be better, Romero said.

Now in its third year, The Forge is one of the most popular indoor music venues in the Chicago area. The venue can host about 1,000 spectators and often books four or five bands a week.

Also, Romero said he wants to capitalize on the rebirth of downtown Joliet which includes the resurgence of the Rialto Square Theatre, less than two blocks away.

As far as the building at 9 W. Cass St., Romero told Joliet Patch, "we're at a good place at a good time."

He believes the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66 will become a tourist magnet, capitalizing on Joliet's recent success with the Old Joliet Prison. He said the Illinois Rock & Roll museum now has a 15-member board of directors and will have a $5.7 million budget.

"That will cover the renovations, buying displays and exhibits and a three-year operating budget," he explained.

Want to know more? You ought to check out the website for the Illinois Rock & Roll Museum on Route 66. They also operate an Internet radio station that streams Illinois music. It's called Road to Rock.